


The Stars Align

by LusciaKoushiro



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Birthday, Fluff, Goth Shiro (Voltron), Jock Keith (Voltron), M/M, Masturbation, Phone Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:33:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23075542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LusciaKoushiro/pseuds/LusciaKoushiro
Summary: Keith wants to get Shiro the perfect gift for his birthday.
Relationships: Allura/Lance (Voltron), Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 70





	The Stars Align

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Franki's Goth/Jock AU.

Birthdays had never been a big deal to Keith, to him the day just meant he was one year older. What was there to celebrate in that? But when Shiro had entered his life his view on the matter slowly changed. Each year, Shiro made sure to dote upon him, showering him with thoughtful gifts and love and each year Keith would try to do the same, but the young football player felt he couldn't match up and fell flat on each and everything he did for his loving boyfriend. Even if he was told otherwise by his partner, he wanted it to be special and this year he was more determined than ever to see it happen.

It was touching the second week of January when Keith was seated in a cafe that was near his college campus, sipping a black coffee while sitting across from Matt Holt, who was cradling his own coffee cup with a quirked eyebrow.

“So you want to get a tattoo for his birthday?”

“That's the plan, yes.”

“I'm more than happy to do it, but how are you planning to keep this a surprise? Even if we start it right away, it will take roughly six weeks for it to heal.”

Keith set his cup down and shrugged; “I can just tell him I injured my leg during practice, no big deal.”

Matt let out a loud 'ha!' of a laugh; “ 'No big deal' he says. Keith, this is Shiro we're talking about. The man is going to want to wait on you hand and foot to make sure you don't move and would probably hand feed you every meal. Not to mention wanting to check the 'injured' area. Telling him you're hurt is probably the worst thing you could do.”

Keith let out a heavy sigh, Matt had a point. Shiro was always caring and loving, but those feelings were amplified when Keith was sick or hurt. Not that Keith would ever complain about it, he felt lucky to have someone who cared about him so much that they would walk to the convenience store at two in the morning for some ice cream just because his throat hurt. “I'll think of something.”

Matt gave a nod; “Okay. What about a design? Any ideas on that front?”

“Kind of?” he replied, sheepishly.

Matt gave him a deadpanned look; “Kind of?” he sighed; “Work with me, Kogane.”

“Look, I know what I want, but no exactly how I want it, okay?”

“Then give me the basics, Keith. I can't help if I don't know where I am even starting from.”

He took a breath and another sip of his drink. “You know Shiro's tattoo on his right arm?” he saw Matt nod; “Well, I kind of want to compliment it; something like it on my right thigh, but not an exact copy of it.”

“Okay... so something with stars and flowers?”

Keith nodded; “Yeah... and that's kind of where I'm stuck. Even if you changed the flowers it would still feel like a copy if it just looked like a field under the night sky and...” he paused, a creep of a blush began to tint his cheeks; “I want something that would mean something to him... to us. I know flowers can have definitions, but I don't know any of the meanings.”

“I could help with that.” Said a female voice off to their side.

They turned their gaze to see a blond waitress who had her blond hair in long pig-tails and bright, vibrant purple eyes. Keith recognized her has one of the cheerleaders; “Hey, Romelle.”

Romelle wandered over to the table's side, the tray she had in her hands now being held down in front of her; “I didn't mean to overhear, but I can help you with the flower definitions. I used to work at a flower shop in high school.”

Matt grinned, pulling out one of the other two chairs at their table; “Now we're talkin, take a seat.”

“Matt, she's working.” Keith scolded, only for Romelle to giggle and take the offered seat.

“Actually, my shift just ended. I was only finishing up one last order.”

“Convenient.”

Matt kicked Keith's shin playfully under the table; “Oh hush, the heavens have clearly recognized your plight and sent us this angel to help us.” he smiled warmly at Romelle while leaning back in his chair; “Now, what do you suggest?”

Another set of giggles passed through her lips; “Flattery will get you everywhere.” she said as she took out her phone to bring up Google and bring up some pictures of flowers that she felt were appropriate, after all, she had bore witness to this relationship just like the rest of their friends. “Let's start with a rose...”

***

After a few hours of flipping through who knows how many pictures of flora, did Keith make a small list for himself and resigned himself to coming up with a design. He entered his and Shiro's shared apartment, expecting it to be fairly quiet save for the soft purrs or meows of his cats, but to his surprise he heard the deep baritone coming from the bedroom.

“Why are you like this?” the man said from behind the wall with a sigh.

Keith kicked off his shoes by the door and made his way over. It only took a few steps, but once there he leaned against the door frame and watched his boyfriend argue with not just one, but all five of his feline friends.

“Don't give me that look, Black, you're just encouraging them.”

“Maybe they just don't wanna see you go either.”

Shiro was quick to turn around at the honey-sweet rasp of his lover's voice. His expression soft as he set his sights on his star athlete; “Hi baby, when did you come in?”

“Only a minute ago.” he entered the bedroom and stood behind Shiro, snaking his arms around his slender waist and rested his chin on the other man's shoulder; “So what are they doing?”

“Take a look.” he gestured with his head, some of his hair falling loose from the bun he had it in from the movement.

Violet eyes wandered towards the bed and there he saw probably the most organized layout of fluffballs; Red was curled up in the right side of the suitcase with Green in the left, Blue was curled up under Red, but a little more towards the center with Yellow next to her and in the center of it all was Black, was stretched out in the middle of the top of the suitcase moving inwards towards the other cats. Keith had to fight off a laugh at the sight, though he really couldn't blame them. He tightened his hold on the other man; “They're just gonna miss you.”

Shiro shifted ever so slightly to brush his lips against Keith's hair; “Me too.” He could always read between the lines. Though the two aren't incapable of being without each other, they never really wanted to be once their romance started. “But it's only for a couple weeks then I'll be home.” Silence fell between them, the two just enjoying being in the others space.

Light clacking sounded off of the wooden floors as Kosmo padded his way into the room, hopping onto the bed and sprawling across the lid of the suit case along side Black.

“Oh come on... not you too.” Shiro sighed; “You were being the good one.”

Keith snorted, “Well I guess I'm gonna side with them.” he pulled away from his boyfriend and maneuvered himself to the foot of the bed where he promptly laid down alongside the animals; “Not gonna let you go.” He stated with a playful pout.

The fond smile that Shiro always regarded Keith with was quick to make it's appearance at the display. He watched the always present hat pop off his head just a smidgen, the long raven locks fanned out like waves on the comforter. Keith would always be a sight worth committing to memory in his eyes. “What's it gonna take to get you to help me out here?”

The playful pout quickly formed into a smirk; “Whatcha got?”

Shiro hummed as he knelt down to the floor and placed a kissed to Keith's lips. It was a chaste kiss, but it always left him feeling dazed and crazy about the other.

“Mmm, not enough. What else you got?”

Shiro chuckled, kissing him on the lips once more. He reached his prosthetic hand up to interlace their fingers. Their eyes fluttered shut and Shiro smiled as he felt Keith hum as the kiss lingered; it was almost like a purr. It never failed to spur Shiro on. The older man swiped his tongue along Keith's lips a few times as he shifted his weight to kneel on the mattress instead of the floor, pulling Keith's arm to pin his hand above his head. At the fifth swipe, Keith opened his mouth to allow his lover entry only for Shiro to pull back from the kiss.

Keith went to comment on the motion, but found himself openly gasp at the sensation of Shiro's mouth on his neck; sucking and nibbling the spot. The gasping became an audible moan as Shiro moved his flesh hand to the obvious bulge tenting in Keith's jeans, palming his member underneath the fabric.

Keith's hands found their way under Shiro's shirt, his thumbs gently gliding over the hardening nipples causing Shiro to moan into Keith's skin, the vibrations sending shivers down the football player's spine..

The noises from the two men were enough to rouse the animals and for them to take their cue and leave their humans be. The two were completely lost in each other; hands, mouths and tongues continued to explore familiar territory as their clothing found its way one by one to some part of their bedroom until they were skin to skin and bathed in the orange and golds of the setting sun.

***

Somehow the two had managed to pry themselves apart and get Shiro's bags packed, feed themselves some take out and watch a movie before falling back into bed curled up tightly together and falling asleep with ease.

Keith could hear some rustling in the darkness as he tried to pinpoint it with a sleepy gaze. His violet eyes finally adjusted to the light of the night spilling into their room to see Shiro tying his hair up. “Hn... Shiro?”

“Hey,” he whispered, kneeling back on the bed. He reached his hand out to gently move some of the hair from Keith's eyes; “I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep, baby.”

“What time is it?” was the yawned question.

“Almost four-thirty; I have to go to the airport.”

“I'll drive you.” Keith said rather quickly and was ready to move from his spot on the bed, only to have Shiro softly grip his shoulders and guide him back down to the pillows.

The older man brushed his lips against his sleepy lover's forehead; “I appreciate the thought, Sweetheart, but I already have an Uber on the way.” He planted another kiss to his forehead at the first whine of protest; “I'll text you the second I land.” He took one of Keith's hands in his, bringing his knuckles to his lips, then placed their joint hands over his heart; “And call you later tonight.”

Keith responded with a somewhat groggy nod; as much as he really wanted to take Shiro to the airport, he was in fact very tired. “Love you.”

Shiro leaned in, capturing his boyfriend's lips. The brief exchange was enough to leave him charged at least through his flight and for Keith it was more than enough to return him to the sweetest of dreams. Keith's eyes slid shut at the first touch of their lips and he felt himself sigh in content as he heard Shiro whisper; “I love you too.”

He let himself linger his gaze, watching the rise and fall of Keith's chest. The minutes just seemed to fly by as his phone pinged; indicating that his ride was waiting outside. As quietly as he could he pulled himself up from the mattress and made his way to the door. Kosmo was quick to enter the bedroom once the path was clear and Shiro couldn't help but smile at what he considered “the best boy”. The dog was always so in tune with Keith's emotions and right there he was sure the dog's instincts were telling him that Keith was going to be lonely. “Just don't drool too much on my pillows.” he joked softly.

He took mental notes of where all the cats were as Red sometimes like to make a break for the hallway. To his surprise all of them were lying down either in just contentment or actually sleeping; Black and Red curled up together in Kosmo's doggie bed, Yellow stretched out on the back of the sofa and Blue and Green lazed about on the kitty condo in the corner. These were the memories that would put him at ease for the next two weeks for when he lulled himself to sleep in the hotel room.

***

The morning sun flowed into the room, causing Keith to groan in protest. The spot next to him was warm and fuzzy, but he was soon awoken by the smell of dog breath; “Ugh, thanks boy...” he muttered, sitting up to ruffle the dogs fur. He glanced to the clock on the nightstand to see its bright red numbers informing him it was just about eight-thirty. A few more minutes went by with him lingering in the sheets before the army of meows came from the living room and like a smart man, Keith rose from his spot to feed the herd of fluffballs.

His morning at that point was fairly normal; got up, fed the animals, drank a cup of coffee, took Kosmo for a walk/run, drank another cup of coffee, showered. Once he was mostly dressed, just underwear and jeans, he took a seat at a desk and fished out his small sketchbook. Drawing had always been one of his favorite hobby, even if he couldn't do it regularly, he wanted to make sure he had a sketchbook handy for whenever the mood struck. It was also handy for when Shiro would be working; Shiro would be at his desk with Keith lingering somewhere in his office with the book and pencil in hand. There were days they never exchanged a word in those moments, but neither minded; they could just be and it was enough for both of them.

Today, however, Keith was on a mission to come up with the design for his tattoo and he was determined to have it done by early afternoon in hopes Matt could squeeze him in. He sketched and sketched and sketched, with nearly five designs in the book and he heaved a sigh at each one. “Ugh, what am I doing wrong?”

Kosmo was quick to saunter over and place his head on Keith's leg. It was enough for Keith to put the book aside and give his faithful dog a few scratches behind the ear. He calmed soon after, leaning back in the chair with another sigh; “I just want this to be perfect, ya know?” He looked down to the dog and Kosmo just stared back the his tongue lolling out of his mouth; “Hm... maybe I should get some feedback from a friend.” He gave Kosmo a few more pets with a smile on his lips; “Thanks, boy.” Kosmo gave a soft bark as Keith removed himself from his seat to grab his phone from the bedroom.

_Keith: Hey Allura, think you could meet me for some coffee or lunch?_

The reply is practically instant.

_Allura: I'm actually at Marmora Brew right now, if you wanna join me. Is everything okay?_

_Keith: Everything's fine, just need a second opinion on something._

_Allura: Well I'm more than happy to help. See you in a few. <3_

Keith then pocketed his phone before he finished putting himself together, topping his getting dressed off with his usual red cap. He double checked the animals' food and water bowls, grabbed his sketchbook along with a small pouch that had a couple pencils and pens in it before leaving to walk over to the cafe.

It wasn't a long walk, only a few blocks, but the mid morning cool air was enough to have a small shiver run down his spine as he entered the cafe. He quickly spotted his friend and teammate in a corner booth and made his way over. As he neared closer he saw her wave down her waitress so when he took a seat across from her Romelle was right there with her pad of paper and pencil.

“Morning Keith, want your usual black coffee?”

Keith thought for a moment, his cheeks dusting pink as he said; “Can I get a large Chai Latte instead?”

“Of course! I'll bring you a cinnamon bun too.” She flashed a smile before bounding to the counter to place and make the order.

Allura looked at him with a knowing smirk; “You're too cute.”

Keith was quick to advert his eyes from that look of hers; “No idea what you're talking about.”

She giggled in returned; “It's okay, Keith.” She took out her phone; loading up a conversation and sliding it over to him; “He's just as the smitten kitten as you are.”

Keith side-eyed the phone and a dumb, love struck kind of smile appeared on his face. On the screen he saw Shiro send a message at around six in the morning, letting Allura know he made it to the airport all right and not even a minute later Shiro laments “I miss him”. He allows himself to read a little more of the exchange and felt himself blush deeper as his boyfriend appeared to gush about how cute he was in his sleepy haze and the quote, unquote; “Kissable pout”. He pushed the phone back to her; “Dork...” he whispered, trying to hide his face.

“But he's YOUR dork.”

“Yeah...” he sighed happily.

“So what did you need an opinion on?”

“Right.” Keith said, more to himself than anything else, “I want to do something really special for Shiro's birthday, ya know, since he actually has one this year.”

Allura gave a nod, “But that's over a month away, you have plenty of time.”

“Well, what I have in mind will take me to his birthday roughly to heal.”

“To heal?” She quirked a white eyebrow.

“I want to get a tattoo and dedicate it to him.” He pulled his sketchbook out and flipped to where the first design resided.

It was then that Romelle returned with the “Shiro Delight” as she called it. Bless his man for having a regular and his friends for putting a smile on his face. Her purple eyes roamed over the picture and a gleeful gasp escaped her; “Is this the tattoo?”

“I don't know, maybe?” Everything I came up with I found fault in.”

Romelle plunked down next to Allura, peering over to the drawings, her eyes lighting up at each one; “Keith, what are you talking about? These are stunning!”

“I have to agree with Romelle, these are lovely.” She stopped on the fifth and final design, her crystal eyes mesmerized by the image. Unlike the previous designs, this one showcased the petals of the different flowers as apposed to the full blossom. The night sky was more prominent with varying size in the stars, the larger of them seemingly placed in precised spots. “Is there a reason the big ones are spaced out like that?”

“Um...” he felt his cheeks heat up; “Yeah.”

Both Allura and Romelle studied the image a little closer, but after a few minutes the two women came up empty. When they say as such, Keith takes his book back and retrieves a pencil from his pouch, “Well... to the naked eye it just appears as stars and that is by design, but if you connect the stars like this, it gives Shiro a small message.” He connects them together.

Romelle gasped again, placing her hands over her mouth while Allura placed hers over her heart. They both glanced to Keith, then to the drawing, then back to Keith again with one of each of their hands setting atop of the book; “This one!” They both declared.

Keith blinked, “You really think he'll like this one?”

“Are you kidding?!” Romelle exclaimed, “The flowers you chose just scream you two and to have the stars like that...” She swooned.

Allura giggled at the sight; “She's right. It's like you captured your love in the stars. Shiro's going to love it.” And Keith could believe it when she said it; aside from him, she was pretty much the only person who could read his boyfriend like an open book.

After some small consideration, Keith gave a nod; “This one it is then. I'll shoot Matt a text to let him know.”

“Tell me the time and I'll come with you.” Allura said, her smile outright beaming.

“Me too!” Romelle said, quickly jumping in and just as quickly she caught sight of her manager, Thace, giving her a look. She scooted out of the booth, “Text me when, see you later!” And just like that she went back to work like she didn't even pause for the impromptu break.

Keith shook his head as he texted Matt; “I don't need someone to hold my hand...”

“Maybe not, but company is always nice-”

“Company for what?”

The two of them turned their attention to the voice that had been approaching them. Allura gave her gentle and pleased smile at Lance, “Oh, Keith's-” She paused, seeing the smallest shake of her companion's head. “It's nothing, we were just discussing Shiro's birthday.”

“That's a month away.” Lance commented with a shrug, “Why are you fretting over it when Valentine's Day comes first? Or better yet, why not just throw on some lace for both occasions and call it a day.”

“Who says I'm not?” Keith said with a sly smirk as he gathered his things and pushed himself out of the booth. “I'll text you later, Allura.” And then he was off, leaving Lance to ponder whatever was going through his head.

Lance plopped down where Keith had been, his eyes never leaving the white-haired woman across from him, “You don't think he is, do you? I was kidding.”

“I don't know, but I think he'd look good in something lacy.”

Lance sat with his mouth slightly agape at the honesty that spilled from her. She gave him another smile from behind her cup as she sipped on the warm liquid.

***

It wasn't long before Keith was back in the apartment and toeing off his shoes with Kosmo greeting him at the door. “Hey, boy.” he ruffled his fur before moving to the counter seats to finish his breakfast and touch up the reference for the tattoo.

Keith's phone pinged and he couldn't help but smile at the sight of Shiro from the attached photo he sent alongside a message;

_Shiro: Made it safe and sound. I'll call you tonight. Love you. <3_

Keith moved his phone to sit beside the drawing. The look within his violet eyes was unmistakable; he was so in love.

_Keith: Love you too. <3_

His phone was quick to ring soon after with a well timed call from Matt, “Hey, you could have just texted me back.”

“ _Yeah, I could have, but I didn't.”_ Keith could just hear the grin on the man's face, _“So give me the deets.”_

Keith took a picture of the drawing; “Texting you the image now.”

There was a beat of silence on the other end and Keith was about ready to defend the piece, saying he was still touching it up when Matt softly said; _“He's lucky to have you.”_

“What?”

“ _I said, he's lucky to have you.”_ he repeated, a lot louder than he probably should have; _“And you both are lucky that I put up with all this lovey-dovey stuff!”_

Keith rolled his eyes at Matt's laughter.

“ _Seriously though, this is amazing. He's gonna die when he sees it. We can get started after hours tonight if you're free.”_

“I'm free, but why after hours?”

“ _You didn't think I was going to charge you for this, did you?”_ Keith was left speechless and blushed deeply as Matt added; _“I'll take being a best man as payment.”_

***

Time just seemed to fly by, before Keith knew it he was making sure the animals were fed and meeting Allura downstairs to head over to Matt's tattoo parlor; she had insisted on driving him in case the area was too tender for comfortable driving. Romelle was meeting them a little later as Thace was having her do some extra work for taking a break when she didn't have one, but the night was sure to be filled with a good time and good company.

Keith had been advised to wear some baggy pants as he wanted to get the tattoo on his thigh. Thus he decided to throw on a pair of Shiro's sweatpants that he tended to wear to bed on cooler nights and a hoodie. Once everyone was gathered and dinner had been ordered, did Keith get situated and Matt got down to work.

The small group chatted away about anything and everything when Allura brought up Valentine's Day, “Lance did have a point that it does come first, how are you going to hide this from him?”

“Well, Valentine's Day is kind of easy. We've been doing the Japanese tradition where one of us does something on Valentine's Day and the other will reciprocate on White's Day, so he'll do something for me on Valentine's and I do something for him on White's Day since his birthday is kind of in between.”

“Aww, that's cute!” Romelle squeaked.

“So you can tell him you don't want sex?” It seemed like an odd question to ask, but Keith could guess why Allura had. Valentine's Day was usually advertised as the one-hundred percent guaranteed day for sex.

Keith shrugged; “I'm always free to tell him that, not that I usually do.” he blushed; “But I can always ask to just cuddle...”

“You two are so sweet, I think I'm getting a cavity.” Matt groaned, playfully.

Keith gave another shrug as the girls laughed. Though he doesn't mind being thought of as a 'tough guy' or 'bad boy', it was nice to let his guard down and show his softer side once and awhile.

His phone buzzed a few minutes later, the picture indicating that it was Shiro. Keith rolled his eyes at the girls who sounded like a 90's audience track with their 'Oh~s' and Matt announced he would take a break while he took the call.

He pushed the accept button; “Hey, babe.”

He could hear the smile on Shiro's face; _“It's so good to hear your voice.”_ he said with a relieved sigh.

“It's good to hear you too. How was your day?”

“ _Exhausting. Barely dropped my bags off at the hotel before being dragged away for a lunch meeting, which involved little lunch. I got to see the site where the building is gonna be constructed though, so that was nice. Dinner was at least relaxing with Veronica and Acxa, they say 'hi' by the way.”_

“Hi to them. Any idea when the construction will actually be?”

“ _Ideally they are hoping for some time in the spring or summer at the latest. I can't wait to see it up and running”_

Keith smiled as he listened to Shiro go on about his passion project. Though most of the details were pretty hush, hush, he did know some basic knowledge of it; that it was to be an affordable learning place that specialized in certain creative fields. The project's original concept was the brain child of lead fashion designer, Nima and her right-hand hair dresser, Rolo. The two had nothing growing up with many of the adults in their lives telling them to give up on whatever dreams they had and prepare for a life of serving fries or worse; behind bars. There was no in between or words of encouragement. They had something to prove; that those who 'came from nothing' can be something. That those who are deemed incapable are in face capable of anything and everything.

Their message was a strong and powerful one and it wasn't hard to see why Shiro agreed to be apart of something like this when he was approached.

“ _What about you?”_ Shiro asked; _“I've been rambling this whole time. Tell me what you're up to.”_

“You know I could listen to you all day.” Keith stated in a fond tone, resulting in another, very audible 'Aw' from the peanut gallery.

Shiro paused at the sound, his cheeks tinting pink; _“Did I interrupt something?”_

“Not at all, I'm just hanging with Allura, Romelle and Matt,” He held the phone out as a cue for the group to say their greetings, followed by Matt stating; “They're just helping me clean the shop.”

“ _Hope he's paying you.”_ Shiro commented with a laugh.

“With food, yes.” Keith replied.

“ _Good, well I'll let you get back to it then. Love you, baby.”_

“Love you too, call me tomorrow?”

“ _It's a date.”_ With another set of 'I love yous' the call ends and Matt set back to work.

***

For the next couple days Keith just took it easy while he healed. Matt had assured him that he could go about as normal and that he just had to be careful not to get it wet or put pressure on it, the latter being the more difficult with five cats and one dog wanting attention.

One afternoon, Allura had stopped by with some lunch. Keith was seated at the counter as she unpacked the containers of Thai food. As they began to plate up, Allura looked at him with curiosity. “So, I have to ask; why the thigh?”

Why his thigh indeed. Keith didn't miss the questioning look on Matt's face when he double check that's where he had wanted the tattoo. The location, however, did have some significance to him. Touch has always been something of 'their thing'. When they were just friends and moving into dating, the touch to the shoulder lingered and as they grew closer as boyfriends and lovers, Shiro's touch would drift, sliding down from his shoulders to his hip and finally resting on his thigh. When curled up on the couch, Shiro would take to rubbing his thigh as if the motion soothed him after a rough day. It was a grounding place for both of them, but Keith felt he couldn't find the right words to explain, so instead he said; “It just feels right.”

***

The two weeks seemed to pass by quickly, much faster than Keith thought it would. He and Shiro talked every night over video chat and on the eve of Shiro coming home, Keith asked; “What time does your flight come in?”

Shiro sighed; _“About that...”_

“Don't fight me on this, I wanna pick you up.”

“ _It's not that, baby. I want more than anything to see you in person.”_ He frowned.

“Shiro?”

“ _I have to stay a little longer. I'm sorry, sweetheart.”_

“Oh..” His heart sank, but he could see Shiro wasn't liking this just as much; “What happened?”

“ _Long story short, some of the pieces of the building design didn't fit with zone regulations.”_

“Does that mean you have to start over?”

“ _God I hope not. But it does mean we have to go over every aspect again to make sure the overall design can work with whatever edits we can come up with.”_

Keith winced just thinking about how much work was ahead of his boyfriend; “How long do you think it will take?”

“ _I'm hoping at least another week at the most, but I'll keep you updated.”_

Keith nodded and gave a soft and gentle smile; “At least we'll have Valentine's Day to look forward to.”

To that Shiro smiled; _“Yeah...”_ He paused for just a brief second before saying; _“I miss you, Keith.”_

“Miss you too, get some rest, Shiro. I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

Shiro gave him a playful smirk; _“You can't tell me what to do.”_

Keith met his smirk and raised him something dark and alluring in his eyes. He leaned in close to the phone, his voice low and husky; “Wanna bet?”

Shiro felt a pleasurable chill run down his spine; _“You win this time.”_ He said after a moment. And like every time before, they say their 'I love yous' and end the call.

***

Unfortunately, Valentine's Day became another victim of their new norm as the city where Shiro currently resided was seemingly sitting on their hands on moving forward with the okay to whatever new designs Shiro and his group had come up with. It was more annoying than anything else as all of this could have been done in the comfort of their own home instead of Shiro being on the other side of the country.

But Keith understood, he always did, but it didn't stop either of them from missing the comfort of being in each others arms.

It was Saturday afternoon when Keith received a text from Shiro to answer the door in twenty minutes. Puzzled to say the least, Keith told Shiro okay, but asked who was coming and all he got back was a kissy and winky face emojis.

“Dork.” he uttered with a chuckle in his throat. He tossed his phone onto the bed as he went about cleaning up the bedroom and then the living room. He gave the animals an apologetic look as he went about vacuuming the space. Once the hum of the machine died down did his furry companions come out and jump onto the furniture again. Keith let out a sigh, but had a smile on his face; “Thanks.”

True to Shiro's word, the buzzer to their apartment echoed through the small space and a voice he didn't recognize answered him on the other end. “I have a delivery for Keith Kogane.”

“Come on up.” he let the delivery man in and met him in the hall just outside of his apartment. His violet eyes blew wide at the largest bouquet of roses he had ever seen. He quickly signed and thanked the delivery man for them and went back inside, the flowers thankfully already in a vase.

Red looked up at the plant with a curious, yet determined gaze, which Keith caught almost instantly when he set the flowers down on the counter; “Don't even think about it.” He watched the feline for a moment more, almost having a stare down, when Red gave up and went back to their spot curled up with Black.

Keith looked about the petals, locating a small card buried in the middle of them all. His eyes went soft as he read;

_To my universe:  
Today is the day of love  
But for me that is every day with you_

_May our stars align again soon_  
I love you  
~Takashi

Keith subconsciously grazed his fingers over the plastic wrapped around his tattoo, wishing he could just show it to Shiro now, but he knew the wait would be worth it. Instead he went to retrieve his phone and plopped into the pillows as he waited for Shiro to pick up.

“ _Did you like them?”_ Shiro asked when he answered.

“They're beautiful, but you didn't need to get me two dozen.” Yes, he did in fact count them as he looked for the card.

“ _I wanted to though.”_

“I know.” he said with a smile; “And I can't tell if the card was sweet or horny.”

Shiro seemingly choked on whatever he had been drinking as he made a few gagging and coughing noises on the other end. _“Keith!”_

Keith laughed; “What?”

“ _I was trying to be romantic.”_

He laughed again; “I know, in all seriousness, it was very romantic and I miss you too, but we say that every night lately.”

“ _Hey, no somber thoughts tonight, okay? I have a whole evening planned.”_

“Oh yeah?”

“ _Yep. First, what do you say about dinner at Oriande?”_

Keith's eyes lit up, Oriande was his favorite place to go when they wanted a little something more than burgers and fries. “I'd love that, but getting in on Valentine's Day with no reservation isn't going to happen AND I would look weird with my phone as my date.”

“ _Not if I got the food delivered to you.”_

“You what? How?!”

It was Shiro's turn to laugh; _“I just called and asked if it could be arranged. It's actually not uncommon for them to do some take out orders on busy nights like this if you call ahead of time. And Allura is going to drop it off around six o'clock, is that okay?”_

“More than, but what about you?”

“ _I'll be having room service brought up here so we can eat together. How does that sound?”_

“Perfect.”

***

Within the next few hours, Keith finished his chores around the apartment, brought the flowers in to set on his bedside table so Shiro could see them when they video chatted; instead of using their phones they decided to use their laptops and web cams. After he was done cleaning, he went through his drawers and his side of the closet to find something to wear. Normally this process was nothing he ever truly worried about; Shiro loved him in anything, but tonight seemed different and nothing he owned really seemed right. He sighed, looking towards Shiro's side of the closet when something caught his eye. Just two hangers to his left did he see one of his favorite shirts Shiro owns; a sheer, black, long-sleeved top that had a v-neck that you could lace up.

He took the hanger in his hands and looked the garment over and upon an inhale of breath did the scent of Shiro's cologne hit him. It was something Shiro had complained about, that for some reason this particular shirt liked to cling onto those scents for awhile, but for tonight, that complaint sounded like the perfect reason to wear it. It and a pair of red, hip-briefs.

Once he was dressed he gave himself a once over in the mirror and his eyes caught sight of the plastic wrap. Quick on his feet, he went into the first aid kit to take out the ace bandage to wrap around it. Thinking himself now presentable, he curled up in Shiro's fluffy, royal purple robe to wait for Allura.

The wait honestly felt like forever, with his violet gaze going to the clock every two to three minutes, but unfortunately for him, he had nothing to really occupy himself with. Upon his fourth check of the animals' food did he hear the buzzer.

He let Allura in and poked his head out of the apartment to see her carrying a paper bag from the restaurant. Keith looked her up and down and she damn near looked like a princess with her hair done up in a bun, the skirt of her pink dress peeking out from under her winter coat that stopped just above her knees and her white heels gracing her feet. “Well, don't you look cozy.”

Though he felt a blush coming on, Keith managed a smirk; “Yep.” He took the bag of food from her; “Thanks for doing this.”

“Not a problem, happy to help.”

“Lance taking you somewhere nice?”

“No idea.” she laughed; “I'm taking him to dinner on the other side of town. Just making this drop off first, so we'll see what happens after dinner.” she gave him a little wave; “Have fun.”

“You too.”

With the door closed and food in hand he went about finding some silverware and take a look at what was in the bag. His face lit with delight as he saw his favorite pasta dish; linguine with veggie meatballs with the restaurant's robust red sauce on the side along with two slices of garlic bread. In another container was a Valentine's special; a heart-shaped chocolate cake, which he placed in the fridge for later. The last piece of this delectable puzzle was the bottle of wine he had set aside from a few nights ago. He poured himself a nice glass, then with food in hand he made his way to the bedroom where he had set up his laptop and right on time did the call make its way through.

“Hey, babe.” Keith said with a big smile as he got situated against the pillows and retake his food in hand.

“ _Hey.”_ Shiro paused, taking in Keith's appearance; _“You look comfortable.”_

“Yep.” he grinned, popping the p for emphasis. “Valentine's Day is about me, remember?”

“ _Never forgot.”_ He smiled lazily, taking in the sight of his boyfriend looking relaxed and happy; _“Everything to your liking?”_

Keith nodded as he reached for his wine. “Thank you, for all of this.”

“ _Always, baby.”_

Conversation flowed like it always had; easy and free. Shiro talked about the hotel's food and that he tried to get something similar to Keith's dish and settled on the veggie lasagna. Keith had commented on how handsome Shiro had looked; having his long hair down for the most part with only the sides pulled back into a ponytail. The silk, black button-down was undone part way to reveal the cleavage of his pecs.

“ _Glad you're enjoying the view.”_

“I am, but I think I have a sight you might enjoy.”

“ _Oh? I thought today was all about you.”_

Keith shrugged, shimmying off the bed to disrobe; “Doesn't mean I can't share.” he positioned the camera just right so when he stood up he was in the frame. He smirked, slowly untying the robe then as if in slow motion did the garment fall to the ground and he lean back on the mattress with his right leg.

“ _Wow... Baby, you're gorgeous.”_ His silver eyes roamed over the lithe body, but the roaming stopped when he caught sight of the bandage; _“Keith, what happened to your leg?”_ His voice now filling with worry.

“Oh... I kind of got banged up during practice, nothing serious.” There was no risk of the injury excuse with Shiro so far away, but he did feel slightly guilty for having to lie.

Shiro's face fell slightly upon hearing that; _“Oh, sweetheart...”_

Keith shook his head; “I'm fine, really. It's just a bunch of bruises, I only wrapped it up so I wouldn't have to fiddle with wrapping the ice pack and not feel the cold through a towel.”

Shiro gave an understanding nod, knowing that was something that Keith had done before on those kinds of injuries. His smile was quick to return as he took in the view again. Keith could feel himself harden under his gaze and shudder when he saw Shiro lick his lips.

“ _You'll have to wear that for me when I get home.”_

He fully knelt on the mattress, his violet eyes locking with Shiro's, “You sure you aren't going to want to wear it?”

He passed his tongue over his lips again as he watched Keith's hands move under the hem of the shirt towards the waistband of his underwear; _“I can always throw it on after I rip it off you...”_

Keith let out a moan at just the thought; “Shiro...”

“ _Tell me what you want, baby.”_

He closed his eyes, wanting the sound of Shiro's voice to whisk him away. “Whatever you wanna give me...” he pulled his underwear down just enough for his erection to pop free; “Tell me what you'd do to me...”

There was something sly in his smile as he was quick to answer the request; _“First, I would gently run my fingers over your neck to the back of your ear.”_

Keith followed as if he was instructed, the ghost of his own touch causing him make the softest gasps.

“ _I would then flick my tongue to your earlobe, taking it into my mouth while my hands found their way under the shirt.”_

To ensure he kept his balance he on on the bed, he only sent one of his hands up the shirt to toy with his already hardening nipple.

“ _And right when I got you between my fingers, I would let go of your earlobe just to blow on the spot.”_

That sent a clear message to his groin as he felt his dick twitch; “Shiro...”

“ _No need to be so quiet, baby... Be as loud as you want.”_ There was a pause as Shiro seemed to take a sip of his drink; _“Do you like this?”_

Keith gave a nod, biting his lip; “What else you got?”

“ _As I kiss down your neck, I would lay you down on your back, then kiss you long and hard, but slow and attentive to what you need; whether it be the dance of our tongues or the slightest nibble of your bottom lip, just to hear you moan.”_

And moan he did, a lot more loudly than he had the previous time as he lay himself down on his back.

“ _That's it, baby.... let me hear you.”_ Keith let another moan of Shiro's name escape him before Shiro continued; _“I would continue toying with your beautiful nub and with my other hand I would slowly graze it down your body, appreciating the taught muscle of your stomach as I moved to rub your hipbone and then down to your thigh and once I reached that spot, I would pull away with one more kiss before moving between your legs.”_

“Hn.... Takashi....”

He licked his lips again with an audible smack; _“I would trail a few kisses on your thigh, before leaving my mark just where you like it before I turn my attention to that stunning cock of yours. Wanting to put all my attention on it, I would stop playing with your chest so I could hike on of your legs over my shoulder while my right hand took hold of you.”_

Keith moved his right hand and grabbed a hold of himself, his tip already pearling with per-cum.

“ _I would hover above your tip, just so you could feel my breath on you before licking all over the head; circling my tongue just right so you could feel the cool metal of my tongue ring against the slit..”_

“Fuck, Takashi....” he whined, beginning to stroke himself.

Shiro moaned himself at the sound of his proper name upon that honey-sweet voice again. _“I then would sink myself down, taking every inch of you in my mouth; bobbing up and down.... up and down.”_

“F-faster... faster, Takashi!” Keith moaned, speeding up his strokes. He panted the same words over and over until he began to tremble, his release rising rapidly.

“ _That's it, baby, cum for me.”_

“M-more.... tell... me more...”

“ _As I keep you in my mouth, letting you set the pace, I rub the thigh of your lifted leg, letting you know I was still there and present.”_

“Hn... Ta... Taka..shi...” With his legs spread he set the hand that had played with his nipple on to his thigh.

“ _I tighten my grip as I feel you tremble.”_

“I-I'm...”

“ _Let go Keith, I've got you.”_

The words were just as grounding as the touches had became as he explosively came with a shout of “Takashi!” from his lips; white ribbons spurting onto his chest as he heaved heavy breaths. Thankfully, Shiro's shirt had stayed pulled up from when he toyed with the nipple from before, but man was he a blissed out mess.

“ _Gorgeous.”_ Shiro breathed as he watched Keith's chest rise and fall.

Keith opened his eyes, his vision still dazed; “What about you?” he managed to say somewhat evenly.

“ _What about me?”_

“You can't expect me to have probably the best self-induced orgasm I've EVER had and not expect to do the same for you.” He looked directly into the camera to see Shiro smirk with his chin in his palm.

“ _Aw, that's cute, you think I'm done with you.”_

He flushed at that; “Shi-Shiro?”

The man chuckled; _“Rest for a few minutes, baby, then grab that dildo from your drawer.”_

Keith felt himself grow warmer, knowing the color of his skin probably the same shade as his underwear, but he smiled none the less. Even from a distance, he was well loved.

***

The following week thankfully saw an end to the mishaps of the zoning issues and Shiro, Nima, Rolo and Veronica settled on the redesign as well as narrowing down construction agencies to get the project in motion. With being held up in the city, the local news also took advantage to get interviews and some behind the scenes looks as to what could only be described as a passion project.

“You're adorable.” Keith said one night after watching the interview online.

“ _Probably would have been cuter if I didn't get stuck here.”_ he pouted.

Keith chuckled; “Nope, your pout just now made you ten times cuter.”

Shiro gave a small smile in return as he shook his head; _“I miss you... I wish I could just get out of here and curl up with you.”_

“Any word of it letting up?”

“ _Doubt it.”_ He moved to the window, facing his phone toward it to show Keith how everything was blanketed in white.

“It's kind of pretty at least.” Keith commented when Shiro turned the phone back around.

“ _Think I would appreciate it more if I wasn't going stir crazy.”_

“Well, I'll do my best to distract you.”

***

Keith in fact was a wonderful distraction, from talking about how his classes were going to asking for help with his homework. One night, he left the camera on the animals while they chatted so Shiro could see them and as boring as every day chores could be, Keith would take him around the apartment as he cleaned and cooked.

The snow had finally stopped at the end of the week, but still covered everything. It was hard to tell how road conditions were going to be.

“I'll call you first thing in the morning to wish you a happy birthday.” Keith said as they were hanging up.

Shiro couldn't believe how much time had passed. He expected some bumps along the way, but he never thought he would be gone for over a month. And now his birthday was landing in a few hours. His first real birthday in four years and all he wanted now was to hold Keith and not let go. The work he has been doing will be worth it in the end, he knew, but it did nothing for him in the here and now; longing for his home.

“ _Breakfast in the morning?”_ Shiro asked with a fond smile.

“Anything you want. Birthday Boy.”

“ _I love you, Keith.”_

“Love you too. Talk to you tomorrow.”

Shiro looked down to his phone for a moment or two before looking out the large window, then back to his phone. It may not have been the twenty-ninth just yet and he had no candles to blow out, but he did have one birthday wish; to be with the one he loves.

***

Keith stirred in his sleep to the soft, but noticeable sounds coming from the living room. He groaned, muttering for the cats to knock it off, but then a not so quiet bark had him shooting his eyes wide open. He scrambled out of bed and made long strides to the center room; “Kosmo, what the-” he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of his boyfriend crouched down to give the dog some loving pats. “Fuck...”

Silver eyes lifted to meet tired, yet surprised violet ones. “Good morning.” Shiro said with a small chuckle in his voice.

The smooth, deep, baritone voice slowly registered in Keith's sleepy brain; it was clear with no distortion from spotty cell or internet signals. He looked to his hands and nope, he was not holding his phone.

“This wasn't how I wanted to wake you...” Shiro continued, almost bashful. “But it's so good to see you.” He lets himself take in Keith's image; the one of him with sleep, tussled hair, red hip-briefs and Shiro's own shirt, the long-sleeved, sheer black one with the laced up v-neck. It was more captivating in person and he knew it would be, but before he could make a comment, Keith started to move towards him and before he knew it, the other man had flung himself at him and the two tumbled to the floor; lips locked, one set of hands roaming and the other holding tight.

“Keith-” Shiro managed between kisses, “Your leg.”

Keith pulled back from the kiss, but still lay sprawled atop of his lover. “What?” For the second time his sleepy brain took a minute to catch up and realize he was still wearing the bandage. “I'm fine, Shiro, really.” He smiled as a tint of pink dusted his cheeks, his gaze not wanting to meet his boyfriend's, “It's actually your birthday present.”

“My... present?”

Keith nodded, adjusting himself so he was straddling the man beneath him. “Do you wanna unwrap it?”

“I'd love to.”

Keith stood up, extending a hand to Shiro to help him to his feet. The animals had since scattered after their humans had collided and are staying out of their way as Keith lead Shiro to their bedroom. Keith stood against the foot of their bed, taking both of Shiro's hands in his.

Shiro gave a nod before sinking to his knees. He gently extracted his hands from Keith's grasp and began to slowly unravel the bandage. The older man's eyes widened at the sight of ink on his lover's skin. “Keith... it's beautiful.”

“I wanted to get you something special... and I thought; what's better than complimenting one of your tattoos.”

“By getting it on one of my favorite places to touch?”

“It felt right.”

Shiro grazed his flesh fingers over it; “It's more than right. It's perfect.”

“There's more...”

“More?”

Keith nodded as he looked down at him. “If you connect the big stars, they say something.”

Shiro attempted to connect them, but came up empty, much like the girls had. Keith chuckled at the sight of confusion. “Like this.” He took hold of his hand and began to trace along the larger stars, starting with the most outer.

“S.” Shiro said, as he recognized the shape.

Keith nodded again; “And if you start here...” he brought Shiro's fingers to the one in the top middle and began to trace again.

“K...” Shiro whispered, his eyes welling with tears; “Keith...”

“And-”

“And?” Shiro was in absolute shock. There was more?

“I don't know much about flowers, but I wanted something that...” he paused, searching for the right words. “Represented us.”

Shiro nodded, willing his tears back. This had to have been the most thoughtful gift he had ever gotten. “And what did you come up with?”

“Well, the rose seemed obvious; love and devotion. This one,” he pointed to the petals in the center, “is called an Astro... Alstromeria and can represent friendship.”

Shiro smiled fondly, still holding back tears.

“And this,” he pointed to the petals at the very bottom of the design, “fits us most of all.”

“Oh? How so?” he asked as he traced his fingers along the petals Keith was pointing to.

Keith let out a laugh; “This flower can mean; faithfulness, sincerity, infatuation and never giving up.”

“Infatuation...” Shiro leaned forward, resting his forehead on Keith's thigh for a brief moment as he let out a laugh, “There really is a flower for everything, even for our pining phase. What's it called?”

“Gladiolous.” he replied with a laugh of his own.

Shiro lifted his head to once again look at Keith, but his eyes caught a glimpse of one last set of petals that were set atop of the a fore mentioned Gladiolous; “And what's this one?”

Keith bit his lip, suddenly shy; “An Orange Blossom... It... it's usually used to wish someone a fruitful marriage.”

“Marriage...” Shiro whispered as if to make sure he heard correctly.

“I know we're young.... and that I'm still in school, but...” he took a deep breath; “But I love you, Shiro and I just thought that maybe.... somewhere down the road we could-”

“Yes.”

Keith stopped his rambling to meet Shiro's gaze; “What?”

He got to his feet, pulling Keith closer to him with one hand on his hip and the other caressing his cheek. “I said; yes.”

Keith's eyes shone with tears as Shiro leaned in. He met the man half way and brought their lips together. They were only standing for a moment more before Shiro gently brought them down to the mattress. He broke the kiss only briefly to look at his boyfriend, now fiance, below him.

Keith looked at him through joyful tears, reaching a hand up to cup his cheek and caress it with his thumb; “Happy birthday, Takashi.”

**Author's Note:**

> The flowers I used for Keith's tattoo were the same ones I used at the end of You Were Meant to be Mine as I feel they really represent the boys.
> 
> You can see a picture I drew of Keith's tattoo [here](https://twitter.com/LusciaKoushiro/status/1236850018608459782)
> 
> Thanks to the wonderfully awesome and talented [Franki](https://twitter.com/effitsfranki) for creating his AU! If you haven't already, be sure to go check out all of her beautiful work!
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/LusciaKoushiro) to see how fics are progressing! ^_^


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